Rare Book Sale Monitor

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

by Liz on August 2, 2012

      As the world excitedly anticipates the completion of the long awaited for film, The Hobbit, ample credit towards the remarkable rare book whose story inspired the film is certainly due. While the book is not only a classic favorite in rare book literature, it is also significantly valuable in the rare book market, which […]

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The first quarter of 2012 marks the return of the best performer of the Rare Book Sale Monitor (RBSM) category breakdown –Arts/Photography/Architecture, to pre 4th quarter 2011 levels. Our top performer showed a slight decline in price appreciation during the end of last year and had a mediocre 2011 performance overall, which was very uncharacteristic. […]

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 From the vividly imaginative mind and pen of the celebrated author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, comes a wealth of vastly unique and rare books which have been overshadowed by the enormous success of his masterpiece – Where the Wild Things Are. The book published in 1963 brought him international acclaim and a place among the […]

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The rare books of romance

by The bookworm on February 9, 2012

Ahh the books of Love. With Valentine’s Day swiftly approaching, it seems like an appropriate time to post some of the rare books that have captured our attention and instilled in us romantic notions.  While on the topic, we will also attempt to shed some light into book collecting behavior when it comes to romantic […]

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The art of poetry recitation has been with us for a long time. With the invention of printing, poets moved towards writing more for the eye than for the ear. It is one thing to enjoy the theatrical aspect of poetry and yet another to read and disseminate intellectual verse. Rare poetry book collectors have to […]

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As the year of the Kindle and the Nook came to a close, one trend proved to be here for the long haul:  “digitalization is increasing prices of rare and fine physical books.” In fact, 2011 proved to be a great year for rare book sellers as collectors bid prices higher and there is every […]

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The 3rd Quarter of 2011 contained no major surprises to any of our tracking monitor – RBSM, sales trends previously established. The book category of Art/Photography/Architecture is still leading the way in the rare book category breakdown. The higher sale price comeback for this category started at the beginning of this year and has been […]

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During the 2nd quarter of this year, our sales tracking monitor – RBSM, has shown a continuation of interest in the popular categories of Art/Photography/Architecture, Modern first editions, and Religion & Theology. Notably,  Modern first editions attained  a new, highest level of interest compared to prior periods.  In the category of Religion & Theology, a […]

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We track monthly sales from a variety of sources and compare the highest sale price items to historic quarterly pricing to determine if there is a significant shift upward. The results are further analyzed to determine the book categories being impacted. Our current book category breakdown includes: Art/Photography/Architecture Business and Economics Children’s and young adults […]

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